Sean McVay said he's happy for Jared Goff, the quarterback with whom he spent four years in Los Angeles. So when Matthew Stafford stepped to the podium moments later after the Lions beat the Rams 24-23 Sunday night at Ford Field to win their first playoff game in more than 30 years, he was asked if he's happy for the city where he spent the first 12 seasons of his career.
Stafford, who may have been chewing on the boos he received from his old fans when he took the field for pregame warm-ups, said, "I’m happy for the players. Happy for those guys.”
The capacity crowd at Ford Field chanted Jared Goff's name throughout the game. Asked if the fans ever chanted his name during his tenure as Lions quarterback, Stafford punted and said, “I don’t know. You’re testing an old man’s memory here," before adding "you almost hope they would" cheer for Goff.
"I mean, he’s their quarterback," said Stafford. "He’s playing great. He led them to a win today. I’m happy for him. I thought he played excellent. He’s leading an offense that’s playing at a really good clip right now and they should be proud of him. They should be cheering for him.”
The boos were heavy when Stafford ran onto Ford Field for the first time as the foe. Asked if he was surprised by that, he said, "It’s a playoff game. I’m not surprised that they were excited about cheering for their team, and I’m not too worried about anybody’s personal feelings towards to me that was sitting in the stands.”
Stafford had a terrific night, throwing for 367 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions. But the Rams went 0-for-3 in the red zone, and Goff was good enough on the other side to make them pay: 22-of-27 for 277 yards, one touchdown and no picks. McVay, who shipped Goff to Detroit after the 2020 season to bring in Stafford, praised his former quarterback for being "really efficient" Sunday night.
"You can see the command that he has," said McVay. "I think there’s a lot made of (our relationship), but I’m really happy for him. Obviously we wanted to come away with the win, but he’s done a great job and I think the grit, the resilience and the way that he’s done his thing here over the last three years, I’m happy for Jared and I certainly am appreciative of the four years that we had together."
Goff and Stafford shared a brief exchange at midfield after the game where Goff said he "told him how much respect I’ve got for him and how great of a player he is."
"Yeah, he’s a hell of a player," said Goff. "He’s one of my favorites to watch around the league. Got a hell of a lot of respect for him.”